June 2015

Itchy goat

Identify this arthropod from the ear of a dairy goat.

What is your diagnosis? Scroll down to see the answer...

Answer:

The long, segmented pedicels are typical of Psoroptes spp. Psoroptes cuniculi has been isolated from the ears of domestic rabbits, goats, and horses. Clinical signs in goats include ear scratching, head shaking, and occasionally alopecia or crusty lesions. Psoroptes cuniculi is often limited to the ears in goats but can spread to the head and body. It has been proposed based on phylogenetic analysis that P. cuniculi and Psoroptes ovis(the causative agent of sheep scab) are a single species. This could have important implications as P. ovis is a reportable disease both federally and in many states.